U.S. attorney will run for Colorado attorney general

DENVER - The U.S. Attorney of Colorado, who's a big fan of Frank Sinatra, says he's leaving office and doing it his way.

"No one asked me to leave," said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid Wednesday during a news conference about his departure. "I'm going out the way I want to go out."

That means Eid resigned before President-elect Barack Obama replaced him, a standard procedure when a new administration takes office. And that means Eid gets to return to private practice at the Greenberg Traurig Law Firm in Denver where he used to work while simultaneously making a run to be Colorado's next Attorney General. That's something he's wanted to do for years.

"I want to go where I can make the biggest difference. And the Attorney General's office is an incredibly important office in the state, defending our water supply, our environment, being able to attack criminals. It's what I do in this job as U.S. Attorney at the federal level, but the chance to get to serve the entire state of Colorado and go back to state government is incredibly exciting," said Eid.

But if he wins that seat, currently held by Republican John Suthers, Eid's wife will have to resign as Colorado's Supreme Court Justice because it would pose a conflict of interest. His wife, Allison Eid, was appointed to the bench in 2006. Eid says it wasn't an easy decision for them but they're very serious about her resigning if he wins the race.

"In this case, we just looked at each other and said 'This is what you should do. It makes sense," said Eid. He will not be able to campaign for Colorado Attorney General with his wife because she's a judge.

Eid's resignation takes effect at midnight on Jan. 19.

He's recommended First Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Gaouette to be the acting U.S. Attorney of Colorado until Obama decides who will fill the position permanently. Gaouette has served 21 years in the U.S. Attorney office in Colorado. Before that, Gaouette was the Assistant District Attorney in the District of Columbia and a police agent in Lakewood.

Eid, who was appointed by President George Bush in 2006, says he'll miss some of the more interesting things about his job the most. But those are things he can't tell you about, such as the people he never indicted.

"I know a lot more about them than they know about me, I suppose," said Eid.

His proudest accomplishment during his tenure was working with the Southern Ute Tribe which has a serious domestic violence problem on its reservation. Eid's office has trained more than 400 tribal officers from 35 Indian reservations about combatting the problem since February last year.

He's also proud that the Colorado office has earned the U.S. Department of Justice's highest awards in each of the last two years, that it's quadrupled statewide federal prosecutions of child pornographers and has increased federal criminal prosecutions in every region of Colorado.

He's leaving office with a new Chief Federal Judge at the U.S. District Court of Colorado whom he respects more than former Chief Judge Edward Nottingham. Nottingham resigned after accusations surfaced that he was a client of two prostitution businesses and witness tampering. Judge Wiley Daniel took over the bench in October last year.

"What we've really needed, frankly, is an understanding of humility towards everyone who appears before the court and I think that's what we have with this Chief Judge. And I will also say the new judges are fantastic," said Eid. "I will always be incredibly proud that the first judge coming out of this office since 1922 is Phil Brimmer. It's one of the highlights of my career. There isn't a finer lawyer I've ever met, apart from my wife."

When Eid sent his resignation letter to President Bush, he thanked him for the privilege of serving.

"For a first-generation American whose father emigrated from Egypt in 1957 with just $100, the opportunity you've made possible for me and my family is a dream come true," Eid wrote President Bush.

Eid will be an environmental attorney at the Greenberg Traurig law firm where he says he looks forward to working with the new Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Terrance Carroll.

As Eid faces his new future, the Frank Sinatra tune is no doubt playing in his mind:

"I planned each charted course; each careful step along the byway. But more, much more than this, I did it my way."